Hatchet was right. Nothing happened the night after Maw’s string of attacks. Frequent radio warnings had gone out, telling people to stay inside after dark. All businesses were ordered to close in time to let their workers get home before the sun set. People were told if their homes had French doors, Maw could plow through them. The werewolf pack volunteered to install metal sheets over them for the moment. Rooms inside with narrow doorways were safer, if you could stay out of the line of fire. The town was gearing up to survive the dragon. Unfortunately for Parker West, who’d even gone to the bother of installing a door with metal bars on his basement, he couldn’t stay inside in the early hours two days after Maw ate seven people. His wife, Kelly, had gone into labor a month early, and there was no way he was going to try to deliver their baby at home. He thought it out as much as possible. Their house sat on a big lot outside of town with no neighbors in sight. They had an attached garage, so they didn’t have to step on dirt to get to their car. He’d drive above the speed limit to the hospital and stop right at the emergency room doors, all paved and cemented. They should be fine. Kelly wouldn’t leave the house in her pajamas, so he helped get her dressed and then held her elbow to help her to the car. She was his world. His life revolved around her, and he’d do anything to keep her safe. He gently got her inside and then slid behind the steering wheel himself. He pushed the button to open the garage door, raced onto the driveway, pushed the button to close it, then squealed onto the country road that passed their house. He hit the gas. If they moved fast enough, maybe if the dragon was far enough away, she couldn’t reach them, even if she felt their movements. Fields of blueberry bushes surrounded them. His headlights cut bright beams through miles of darkness. He’d never liked streetlamps when he stayed in hotel rooms on trips, wasn’t used to falling asleep unless surrounded by black night, but he wouldn’t mind a little more light now. Kelly balled her hands into fists and took a sharp breath. Her pains were five minutes apart. They’d started that way. No slow build-up, just bam! Damn, he hoped everything was all right. He sped up even more. He squinted at movement on the side of the road a distance ahead of them. A deer? That’s the last thing he needed. His cousin had ruined the whole front of his car when he’d hit one a few months ago. Parker leaned forward to see better and then stomped on his brake. The dragon emerged from her underground tunnel, then moved onto the road, facing them. “Shit!” Parker spun the steering wheel, forcing the car into a tight U-turn. He and his cousin used to drag race on these back roads. Could he outrun a dragon? Once he was facing the opposite direction, he hit the gas again, and the dragon spewed flames behind them. They scorched plants on both sides of the road, but didn’t reach the car. He drove faster. The dragon gave chase, but didn’t get any closer in his rearview mirror. She didn’t drop behind, though, either. He could only think of one place to go, one place where he and Kelly might survive, and it wasn’t that far away. As fields flew past their windows, he headed to Cole’s place. Everyone knew the werewolves’ friends were staying there. He hoped to hell they were there now.